Davies strengthens global leadership with new group CRO

Insurance service provider Davies has appointed James Heath to the newly created role of group chief risk officer (CRO), as the company expects to see more emerging risks and regulations amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Heath is currently a partner and head of risk & compliance at Davies’ legal arm Keoghs. He will take up his new role on June 01, reporting directly to group CEO Dan Saulter. In this new role, his remit will include risk, compliance and regulation on a global basis, supporting decision making across Davies, as it seeks to continue its expansion into new territories and to add new domain expertise.

Heath has been Keoghs' compliance officer for legal practice, managing its risk & compliance team since 2014.

Davies recently completed the acquisition of Keoghs, a provider of dispute resolution and risk services for the UK insurance sector.

Saulter said: “I am delighted to welcome James to our Group Executive team, following his well-deserved promotion. We are proud of our record of creating career mobility for talented people across the group, and this appointment is testament to that. Reflecting on the current COVID-19 pandemic, we expect to see more emerging risks and more regulation in future, making this the right time for us to create this new role of Group Chief Risk Officer. I look forward to working closely with James.”

Heath added: “Having led Keoghs’ risk and compliance function as COLP since 2014, I am delighted to now step up to this new challenge. Delivering a consistent and robust risk management framework across the Group is crucial, and after 25 years within Keoghs, I now look forward to applying that experience across the wider group, working closely with all of our businesses, our clients and our people to ensure we employ leading risk management practices across the organisation.”